The present invention generally relates to paintball guns, and more particularly relates to feeder apparatuses used in feeding of paintballs to paintball guns.
The game of paintball is one in which two or more xe2x80x9cmilitaryxe2x80x9d teams try to capture one another""s flags. The players on the teams each typically carry a compressed gas-powered gun that shoots paintballsxe2x80x94gelatin or plastic spherical capsules which usually contain a colored liquid. When a player is hit with a paintball from an adversary""s gun, the paintball ruptures and leaves a colored xe2x80x9csplatxe2x80x9d on the hit player who is then xe2x80x9coutxe2x80x9d and must leave the game.
As the game of paintball has grown in sophistication, semiautomatic paintball gunsxe2x80x94guns that sequentially fire individual paintballs as fast as the trigger can be repeatedly pulledxe2x80x94have become more prevalent. The high firing rate capability of semiautomatic paintball guns has necessitated the use of bulk loader devices in conjunction with such guns.
Generally, a paintball gun assembly includes a storage container, such as a hopper feeder adapted to internally store a relatively large quantity of paintballs (for example 100-200 paintballs) Connected to the storage container is one or more feed tubes connected to the gun""s infeed.
During normal operation of the paintball gun assembly paintball jams intermittently occur in the storage container and/or feeder tube(s). These jams prevent the normal delivery of paintballs, with the result that the paintball stack can be totally depleted by several shots of the gun. Similar jams may occur in the feed tube, thereby preventing delivery of paintballs to the paintball gun""s infeed.
In the past, clearing of such jams has required that the gun be forcibly shaken to dislodge the paintballs causing the jam within the storage containers and/or for the feed tube to be manually cleared. Such solutions are undesirable since it at best interrupts the proper aiming of the paintball gun and, of course, correspondingly interrupts the gun user""s ability to continue the rapid firing of the gun, and may at worse render the gun temporarily unusable.
In accordance with this need, a feeder for a paintball gun is provided According to one embodiment, the feeder includes a housing having an inlet channel for receiving paintballs and an outlet channel for delivering paintballs to a paintball gun. Disposed within the housing is a feed mechanism rotatably mounted within the housing that is used to transport the paintballs from the inlet portion of the housing to the outlet portion of the housing so that paintballs are delivered to the paintball gun as needed. The feeder mechanism may, for example, be rotatably mounted on a spindle on the feeder housing.
The feed mechanism may include one or more flexible or complaint rotating disks which are spaced apart by a distance less than the diameter of the paintball. This allows the feed mechanism to frictionally engage the paintball, and facilitates the process of the moving the paintball from the inlet channel to the outlet channel. A motor, also disposed within the housing, rotates the feed mechanism as needed, typically in response to the firing of the paintball gun. Preferably, the motor is selectively operable by a control circuit connected to a sensor that detects the firing of the gun.
In an embodiment of the invention, the feed mechanism includes a first and second rotating disk which are used to frictionally engage the paintball. The first and second rotating disks are spaced apart by a distance less than the diameter of the paintballs such that feed mechanism can frictionally engage the paintballs thereby facilitating their movement in the feeder. At least one of the two rotating disks is flexible in order to accommodate the frictional engagement without breaking the paintballs. The spacing between the first and second rotating disk can be maintained by a disk spacer which can be constructed of a cylindrical disk interposed between the first and second rotating disks.
The housing can be formed from two shells such that the feed mechanism, motor, a battery and other components that may optionally be included are enclosed thereby protecting the feeder components from dust, dirt and corrosion. The housing may include first and second chambers for holding the feed mechanism and the motor.
The feeder may include a control circuit connected to a sensor. The sensor may be integrally mounted on the paintball feeder. Alternatively, the control circuit can connect to an external device that provides a positive or negative signal when the paintball gun is fired. Generally, the control circuit activates the motor for a predetermined period of time in response to signals received from the sensor or external device. In an aspect of the invention, the period of time that the motor remains active is user adjustable. The sensor may be, for example, an accelerometer, sound detector, vibration detector or air pressure sensor.
The motor which is used to rotate the feed mechanism can either be directly coupled to the feed mechanism in order to achieve rotation, or alternatively, may indirectly drive the feed mechanism. In the latter case, a drive mechanism may include one or more drive components coupled to the to the feeder mechanism. The drive components can either be directly coupled to a shaft on the motor, or alternatively, through a belt which frictionally engages both the motor shaft and one or more of the drive components.
The invention may be better understood with reference to the accompanying drawings and in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.